FirstEnergy to spend $200 million to produce electricity from biomass

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) has announced plans to spend about $200 million to repower units 4 and 5 at its R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside, Ohio, so that they can generate electricity principally with biomass.
FirstEnergy said when the retrofit is complete, the Burger Plant is expected to be one of the largest biomass facilities in the United States. Biomass is biological material  wood chips, lawn clippings or plant material grown specifically for electrical generation  that has less of a detrimental impact on the environment than fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas.
"Retrofitting the Burger Plant for biomass will expand our diverse generation portfolio even further and continue our support of state and federal efforts to increase reliance on renewable energy sources," FirstEnergy president and CEO Anthony Alexander said.
Gov. Ted Strickland said in a statement that the project will help jump-start the biomass renewable energy industry here in Ohio and also serve as a model for projects throughout the U.S." The governor said the project also will add to Ohio's advanced energy portfolio standard, which requires that 25% of Ohio's energy come from advanced and renewable energy sources by 2025.
FirstEnergy said it was facing a March 31, 2009, deadline to determine the future of the plant under the terms of a consent decree related to the company's 2005 New Source Review settlement.
The capital cost for retrofitting the Burger Plant to burn biomass is estimated to be around $200 million. Once the project is completed, units 4 and 5 could be capable of producing up to 312 megawatts of electricity - its current capacity. Thats enough electricity to power approximately 190,000 homes, which would make the plant one of the largest biomass facilities in the country based on generating capacity.
With the completion of the project, FirstEnergy's portfolio of renewable energy could total more than 1,100 megatwatts, including 451 megawatts of pumped-storage hydro and 376 megawatts of wind power.